“All day long they prayed--and just before evening there came a white cloud from the west which proved to be _millions_ of sea-gulls, every one of which had brought along a perfectly good appetite for black crickets, and before you could say Jack Robinson there wasn’t a single cricket left to tell the tale. Right then and there, those poor Mormon farmers turned the prayer meeting into a day of Thanksgiving. “In fact, so thankful were they that they built in Temple Square in Salt Lake City a beautiful granite monument called The Monument To The Sea-Gulls, and declared the sea-gull to be the sacred bird of Utah forever.” “Well, _could_ you blame ’em?” said the boy named Billy. Fourth of July “Hello, Scout,” said Uncle Ned, who had dropped in for dinner, as the boy named Billy came in in his new khaki uniform, “whither away?” “I’m just getting my kit packed,” said the boy named Billy, “we Juniors are going to hike out to Long Lake for over the Fourth.” “You’ll miss all the fireworks,” said Uncle Ned. “No, we won’t, we’ll be back before evening,” said Billy. “We’ve got to because we’re going to have Company fireworks on the Parade Grounds--every fellow’s going to bring his own and pool ’em--Dad’s given me some regular sky-shooters to celebrate my country’s birthday with.” “Not much like the unsafe and insane Fourth your Dad and I used to have when we were youngsters,” grinned Uncle Ned. “We had real gunpowder those days.” “Dad’s told me all about it,” said Billy. “It must have been loads of fun. I like a big noise as well as anybody, but I sort of like to be all in one piece when I take the count at bedtime, and Dad has always missed that finger of his a lot--that middle one he lost the Fourth just after he was nine years old.” “Guess I do know,” said Uncle Ned. “I carried him in to Mother, and I’ll never forget how she looked, either.” “Well,” said the boy named Billy, “when it comes to having fun that would make Mom sorry I’ll go without the fun.” “You’re all right, Billy Boy,” said Somebody, who had been listening to the conversation, “those old fellows did not have half the fun they think they did.” [Illustration: Fireworks!] “Well,” said the boy named Billy, “she’s a grand old country and I’ll help celebrate her birthday every time, but I’m glad that they pay more attention to us boys nowadays and let us have hikes and scout suits and drills and everything. It would be hard to find a place where a boy can have a better time just being a boy, than in this good old Land o’ the Free--don’t you think?” “’Deed and I do, Billy Boy, think just that!” said Somebody. “Somebody, what is in the Declaration of Independence?”